---QUOTATION---I'm not sure if NatVac did fiddle with the radio reporting, after someone was worried about its realism.---END QUOTATION---

That was me. I report it as an issue every few months as it bugs the living daylights out of me. On page 195 and 241 of this thread are the two instances I can quickly find (if the forum had a proper post linking system, I would even link to them). NatVac's response is on Page 243.

---QUOTATION---NatVac, if you did some chanes to this piece of logic scrap it to hell.---END QUOTATION---

To my knowledge, NatVac hasn't changed anything with regards to Petruha (see response on Page 243). AFAIK, it is still vanilla behaviour and I don't recall it behaving any differently in vanilla SHOC.

---QUOTATION---

Re Petruha speaks when dead: See Riddle's and ZaGaR's posts on page 221 of this thread. My response is on the next page; I agreed with ZaGaR that if anyone in Petruha's group survives, he reports back.

Neither vanilla nor any mods based on previous ZRP releases have this behaviour. Probably the bug was always there, but something in this version causes such behaviour to come out in the open.

I notices the same thing with Seriy's line. After killing the bandits, if I do not talk to him, the message repeats any time I go near the hangar. I'm not sure it doesen't occour in vanilla, so I will test it on a clean install.

Neither vanilla nor any mods based on previous ZRP releases have this behaviour.

---END QUOTATION---

Ah, fair enough. It has been a while since I played vanilla, so I shall bow to the superior knowledge of the forums on this question!

---QUOTATION---

Probably the bug was always there, but something in this version causes such behaviour to come out in the open.

---END QUOTATION---

Yes, it's certainly possible that an inadvertent change has been made in ZRP which has caused it. I suppose it is also possible that NatVac has actually changed Petruha but hasn't actually mentioned it anywhere.

Please read the documentation in the mod's archive before posting here. And your question might already be answered elsewhere; you can try Google with the search parameter site:gsc-game.com to check this site.

Feel free to mention any bugs or crashes you know that are missing from the list.

If you don't start a new game, there may be some minor problems with your saved games. The saves are modified versions of the all.spawn file present when you started your current game. Saved games based on mods might also include custom items from those mods, and support for them will need to be properly merged to avoid crashes.
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---QUOTATION---I need to modify the all-spawn to make the bar area neutral to a freedom actor (just him)? Could this be achieved by script?

As for the dialogs, I'll have to check some of the faction mods to see if they do anything to the wounded dialogs, and do some testing.---END QUOTATION---

Yes, MrSeyker, you can make the bar area neutral via script. You might still want a custom all.spawn that doesn't have any Duty folks there. You can tweak the script and configuration file triggers that make the Bar area enemies with the Marked One when he deals harm -- but then you will still be making enemies anyway.

Re the wounded dialogs: why check faction mods? As I've mentioned at least twice already, I have already added the support for medkit dialogs for the normally-enemy factions like bandit, merc, military and Monolith. I just haven't tested it. Am I missing something in this discussion? I'm exhausted on top of really feeling my age lately, so please try to "explain as you would [to] a child."

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ST35AL, you can already do those things you want to do with the ZRP. The carry weight is one of the Actor.cfg options, as weidrik noted (thanks!). With the ZSU (ZRP Support Utilities) you can give yourself money, and you can spawn stuff in your inventory easily, and in any trader's inventory with a script command (although it is probably better to just edit the trade_*.ltx files). Knock yourself out after reading the docs; the stuff has to be deliberately installed and enabled before you can do most of those things to avoid tempting the ones without self-discipline.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯case81, I also commend your modding efforts. If a mini-mod is extremely lightweight*, has docs/configuration files, plays well with other mods and doesn't cause trouble (like CTDs or weird game behavior) when activated, I might consider adding it to the ZRP as a non-default option. It would have to get into a very long line, though, unless it fixes bugs. I added MrSeyker's faction stuff because it fixed a vanilla "bug" where you were inducted into the Freedom faction without being asked, and the faction join stuff came with the small package that included some Modifier support.

And a lot of your tweaks are already possible in the latest ZRP, like putting certain 2nd-slot weapons into the first slot. (Just comment/uncomment/change stuff in the weapon files per the remarks.) But this is still left to the intrepid modder who wants to work on the game for his own purposes. While enabling sprint on the SVU is reasonable, one might want to balance it with a reduction in accuracy or damage, or an increase in settling time.

As ZaGaR and Mr. Forman know, I never intended the ZRP mod/patch to be a super mod pack. We've fixed bugs, and I've added some support via the ZSU for fixing the serious stuff as well as making a very useful (but not yet that easy to use) development base for modders. Others have adapted parts (or even all) of the ZRP for their own special mod. I'm still fixing bugs in SoC, along with the likes of Lijenstina and others who are still sharing their bug finds and fixes.

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>> "One man's meat [...]" . (loosely quoted )

ZaGaR, that was very loosely quoted. If any are interested in the original quote in context (a pun joke to make the same point ZaGaR made), see the first page of this thread. I've not forgotten the grenadier stuff, but I've been distracted by other stuff.

---QUOTATION---Uh!Oh! The report of Peruha, or his mates, to Wolf repeats on every reload of if you stay in Cordon. I'm not sure if NatVac did fiddle with the radio reporting, after someone was worried about its realism.

I started a new game several times and the result was the same. The only "workaround" is to let Petruha's gang die, or kill them yourself. That stops the repetition. The "transfer of command" seems to work, with Petruha dead there is one of the others holding the radio. Even that is causing sometime the freeze of the dude holding the radio.

NatVac, if you did some chanes to this piece of logic scrap it to hell. Playing the unmoded vanilla a hundred times I was never aware and/or bothered from what happened in the aftermath of this assault.---END QUOTATION---

The only change was to Petruha's greeting logic: "Pipe down, man! Let me feel [fill] you in." It would repeat every time you approached him on the hill after the raid if you went it alone. I would not expect that logic branch to affect the situation you are encountering, though, as it is in a different logic path, but it is using a conditional form (distance + info_portion check) that occurs only a couple of other times in vanilla and therefore might not be behaving as expected. Compare [walker1@esc_assault3]'s logic in config\misc\gulag_escape.ltx with that of vanilla. You can revert to vanilla there as a test.

I might need a bit more context here. Like romulous, I've not heard this recently, but I've only played the cooperative branch once in the last few months. I do vaguely remember it in the early ZRP days, but that was long before the minor change mentioned above (ZRP 1.07 XR1). And your report is the first since XR1 came out in September 2010. Maybe not many are playing or are not revisiting Cordon or don't have the particular confluence of events that you do.

One of the quirks in STALKER is the logic reset on NPCs in many cases once they go offline or switch from certain states. Examples include Sakharov and Kruglov/Semenov discussing the measurement data, the survivors of the Freedom/Duty feud rerunning the road north to Pripyat, and Nimble pining for the comforting feeling he had while captive at the auto park. "Returning to starting positions" might be annoyingly true because they are.

Who is the speaker? Petruha? If he is alive, I'd expect it from him. Or is it one of his compadres? Where are they when this sound repeats? Where are you when you re-enter the area or reload the save? Is there any possible influence on NPC logic from other mods? Does the problem go away when you leave Cordon and then return?

In my playthroughs with the cooperative attack, upon successful completion the survivors surround the firebin. Recently they've been there and fought with the bandits that migrated there offline, but I recall scenes where they reset and re-assaulted the park from the hillside. It might be just during the pause after the battle and before the firebin boozing.

In any case, it is possible that a simple logic check can prevent the recurrence.

---QUOTATION---I notices the same thing with Seriy's line. After killing the bandits, if I do not talk to him, the message repeats any time I go near the hangar. I'm not sure it doesen't occour in vanilla, so I will test it on a clean install.---END QUOTATION---

It should happen on a clean install as well, as this is vanilla behavior. I think the devs want you to talk to Seriy.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯LoboTheMan, you might see what I wrote to case81 above.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯Lijenstina, thanks for the heads-up on the info_l03agroprom.xml error. I've not seen any ZRP no-log CTDs in years although I did see some weird crashes in some custom stuff when I loaded older saves with config mismatches -- one still had a 2nd-slot weapon in the first slot, another had different ammo loaded (beer from O_ACTOR!) -- after I'd reverted to the original forms.

In reference to [logic1] Monolith logic quirks, I see that the section processing code actually strips out the numbers for determining which schemes to use. I suspect that was what kept it working anyway despite the typos.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯LoNer1, I think you already had that question answered in another thread. There is some faction repair stuff in the ZSU (ZRP Support Utilities) that can be adapted to the traders -- after you look at the stuff that is already out there for that purpose. The ZRP does have the ability to fix even the Bar violation enmity; see my responses to Mr. Forman in this thread, page 157.

One of my minor goals for the ZRP is to keep it small. One of my issues with the Pripyat phantom garage fix in MacroN's 702c multiplayer patch is that it is a small change to a large (4.3 MB) level file. While looking at ways to avoid including a lot of unchanged stuff in ZRP, I examined the database archives for the possibility of changing gamedata.db2 file directly.

Wow. The data is compressed and checksummed, and then wrapped in one of two different encryption schemes depending on whether it is intended for distribution world-wide/North America or just in the CIS.

I've been modifying bardak's X-ray assets converter utility, removing all but the database I/O, adding the ability to extract specific subdirectories or individual files, as well as a file patcher (useable but still needs work). I've improved the feedback as well, although it is still meant to be run in a command-line shell.

(Side note: The gamedata.xdbn form doesn't have the WW/Ru encryption on the compressed files. This is readable by any retail version of the game and may be why some mods come with those files.)

Instead of distributing a 1.4 MB zipped file for one simple purpose, I can distribute the modified converter with source code* and a batch file in an archive less than one-tenth that size.

The Pripyat ghost garage fix is created when you run the _PripyatLevelFix.bat batch file included with the SoCPUP 1.0 package now available on the Metacognix download page for STALKER-SoC stuff. Please read the documentation first!

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ShoC_Treatment:Not for the faint of heart.

I've also recently posted the first release of the ShoC_Treatment package, consisting of vanilla scripts that have been cleaned up a bit, with instructions for updating the database files with the modified converter which I'm currently calling SoCPUP (for Shadow of Chernobyl Patcher/Unpacker/Packer). This is about 3 MB of files compressed to less than 300 KB.

The utility permits one to unpack, clean and repack the corresponding gamedata.dbn files. It does not re-compress the data when repacking (I have not looked into why bardak chose not to do that; maybe he thought it faster) but it still encrypts the database directory info in the forms needed for the various retail distributions.

Why would I replace the database scripts? Well, about half ( > 48%) of the scripts are not used by vanilla. Some don't even parse. Of the ones that do, they take up global memory space in addition to adding to the processing needed just to access a script file that is actually used. And the used scripts still had useless debug calls and useless functions themselves.

See the "Database Cleanup Project / ShoC_Treatment" thread for more discussion:

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Tip: Before you go below Agroprom in your ZRP-based replay-through, I suggest deleting the vortex anomaly that is the bane of Mole's group. For some reason the AI pathing leads through the broken wall where that vortex resides, and the current SANB doesn't stop them from going there.

To delete the anomaly, enable debug mode (Modifier > _ZRP.cfg > Debug Options > check "Enable ZRP Debug Features" and click Apply). In game, move toward the anomaly to within 10 meters and press Esc D Delete. You should see a message that it has been deleted. Save/reload or change levels to preserve the action.

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Physics suggestion, for experimentation:

One of the remarks made in the docs for MacroN's multiplayer patch 702c was a credit to LexMalin's "ragdoll technologies" for a change to the air viscosity. MacroN's change was to ph_skeleton_airr_lin_factor in mp_actor.ltx; I likewise changed that variable to -0.45 in gamedata\config\defines.ltx (probably part of what LexMalin did):

ph_skeleton_airr_lin_factor = -0.45 ;2.0 ;550.0

Experiment with different values. Falling bodies behave more like what you would expect with the new value. But the gauss rifle and grenades can really toss bodies.

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* All of the converter packages that are available are based on bardak's work. He made it open source and includes open-source utilities from third-party folks for compression/extraction and the like. If you downloaded a converter that did not have source or provide a direct link to the source, it is in violation of the license agreement.

I've recently found out a SmP related issue related to a bad megaphone sound in Agroprom Base so that may be the main culprit for those Agroprom related errors in the SmP 2.4 and the recent builds of 2.5. However going frantically through every script and xml and ltx does pay off in game stability and even better speed.

I think that some safeties are incorporated into the game - not all bad logic and script calls result in a crash but maybe them could be that straw that broke the camel's back in mods that tax the system far more. XMLs and ltx are a minefield. Thousands of entries that could crash the game. Also gulags. All npc states tables saved in locals. An accident just waiting to happen.

My theory ( Anne Elk's theory number three ) is that the people which knew enough about the game left out in 2006 and the people who stayed didn't knew much about the game specifics to do a proper debugging job and weed out what stuff is used and which is not. In addition, it could be magnified by the pressure from THQ for a release which could add to not doing it properly. However looking at how CS was broken on release I incline that the first one is more likely.

"experience is a son of tough mistakes"

Oleg V. Yavorsky: Getting hit by a wardrobe flying into your head can be fun!

SmP 2.5 team member

We will all CTD in the end

"Im trying to get the bulbs for the gynecologist/cyclops but I cant figure out how to get over the fence"

---QUOTATION---My theory ( Anne Elk's theory number three ) is that the people which knew enough about the game left out in 2006 and the people who stayed didn't knew much about the game specifics to do a proper debugging job and weed out what stuff is used and which is not. In addition, it could be magnified by the pressure from THQ for a release which could add to not doing it properly. However looking at how CS was broken on release I incline that the first one is more likely. ---END QUOTATION---

There is always a BUT...
But does it worth the amount of work?
I have just one problem with a full cleanup project: many of the mods are using cutout stuff, and restore/reactivate tons of unused stuff from the vanilla gamedata. I really don't know, how many players play still pure vanilla game and how many are pleased with pure vanilla gameplay. Imho the pure vanilla game experience is far from ideal.

So any cleanup project would produce a pure vanilla game and nothing more. I believe none of the modders would rewrite his project for a purified gamedata, even if he gains some fps and some loading time.

"I have a dream that one day this community will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all mods are created equal."

Gandalf will always be the greatest Jedi, even if he couldn't defeat Voldemort and win the Hunger Games so he could finally make it through the maze and help the Avengers on their quest to find the Crystal Skull.

I agree, I should have given a detailed description of the problem NatVac. Your post came while I was performing tests on several different scenarios and on several SHoC releases. Now I have myself a better understanding of what and how.

First, it is a problem occourring ONLY when Petruha&Co. are asked to take part in the assault, the "cooperative branch" as you put it.

Second, Petruha MUST DIE leaving behind at least a survivor.

Third, one must spend a lot of time running circles around Cordon to notice it.

From the point second onward, every time you reload within Cordon, or return to Cordon from another map, the game plays the report to Wolf after a few seconds of delay.

Yesterday I managed to reproduce the problem from an angle that may shed more light on the problem:
1-selected the cooperative scenario;
2- kept Petruha and his followers alive and waited for him to finish reporting to Wolf;
3- blew Petruha to pieces with the green fuel tank found there (inside the hangar with the broken truck).

The VERY INSTANT Petruha dies, one of the others pulls out the hand radio and reports to Wolf - AGAIN... From that point, you will hear the report on every reloading of the game, of course while inside Cordon.

On the game versions side, I tested the plain ShoC 1.0005 and ZRP R10. THE PROBLEM DOESN'T APPEAR. Unfortunately, I'm struggling to find the versions and sub-versions between the last of R10s and the R11 XR2 in the total mess of later ShoC mods downloads. I'm curious to see when this glitch makes its appearance.

Check the conditions in the esc_assault_home logic . The problem is that the logic switches to the report as soon as Petruha is dead. There are two infoportions that are used for checks for the two NPC's
but Petruha hasn't got any after his talk. Add to Petruha's logic an infoportion and use it as precondition on the npc logic.